Happy July 4th!! Patriotic wreath, USA pin, and more!

Yes, I know it's the 3rd of July, but I won't be online much tomorrow. We have great fun here in Logandale on the 4th. It's gonna be a hot one!! 117-120 F
http://www.wunderground.com/US/NV/Logandale.html
(that temp reading comes from Nellis AFB - 50 miles away where it is cooler!)

We have a valley-wide prayer and flag raising ceremony performed by the Veterans. Then we havea breakfast that my hubby is helping with as part of the Rotary Club. They also have a candy drop - 2 guys who have 'Light Planes' fly over dropping candy at the fairgrounds where we all meet. There is a watermelon bust, hot dog eating contest, the firemen bring the trucks over and spray water everywhere. It's a lot of fun for the kid, and we moms sit around talking, knitting, just being friends.

The evening brings a dinner put on by the Chamber of Commerce-- hubby is helping with that too; then fireworks at dusk. We always come home with the kids after the dinner, and many of the neighborhood children come to our home too. We have sparklers, and a few fireworks, and we sit and watch the fireworks from our home.

I love it! It's a great time to remember how very fortunate and blessed I am to be living in this free country. I know there are many, including the media, who hate President Bush, who hate what we stand for as 'one nation UNDER GOD', who are trying to destroy those freedoms, who think they can remove God from this land, who twist things like marriage, the constitution, who hate the thought that we are taking down terrorists, at a great price... the price of our young people who are brave enough to go to war.

How much this nation is becoming a product of the cowardly, greedy people of the 60's who wrongly hurt our Vietnam Vets with their cruelty.

It greatly saddens me...

I am thankful that even though not everyone supports the current war efforts against terrorism, they are not being cruel to those who are doing their sacred duty. Those veterans are welcomed back to a heros welcome, as they should be!

There is not one freedom you or I enjoy that has not been paid for with a great price, with the sacrifice of many human lives.

I hate war. I hate the thought processes that go into war-making. But I love freedom. I believe that ALL on this earth deserve to not live under tyrany. They deserve to raise their little ones where they don't have to be fearful of everyone. We so take that for granted every single day here.

I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. War is not new. There was once a great war in Heaven, and those of us on this earth now, all once fought as brothers and sisters in that war.

Revelation 12:
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.


We supported our Savior and our Father in Heaven's plan to come to this earth, so we can gain a physical body, have trials and joy and learning experiences and become more like Heavenly Father. That war in heaven was not won by cowards, it was won with love and testimonyin the Savior and in His atonement, and the power of the Priesthood and we were there standing up for freedom.

And it is vital that freedom is promoted on this earth NOW too.

Thank you to all our brave service men and women who are on the battles front now. We love you!

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I wanted to tell all of you about a sweet new yahoo group that I joined who are busily making 7" granny type squares for people to make into blankets for the families of our fallen soldiers, and for the soldiers who are recouperating in Landstahl Hospital in Germany after being injured in the line of duty.

The more of us who join, the more soldiers and their families we can help.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Loves4TroopsPlus/

I have made 3 squares for them so far. They have a knitted version and a crocheted version of the squares they wish for us to use, and patterns and places to mail squares can be found on their yahoo group. It's a lot of fun and I hope some of you will join. =)

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Bev's Patriotic Door Wreath
copyright Bev Qualheim 2003 - All rights reserved
www.bevscountrycottage.com

I made this to honor our brave men and women who are overseas, serving their country right now and always. May the Lord watch over them and guide them and protect them...

This wreath could easily be made in colors to represent any country - red and white for Canada with a Canadian Flag and perhaps silk maple leaves, and red, white and blue for Britain with the Union Jack in the center.

Materials:
One 12"-15" wreath grapevine wreath from any craft store. (Our hardware store had this one on clearance for 10 cents!)
Small flag (49 cents)
Silk flowers in various patriotic colors.
I used 3 stems that cost less than $2 each.
Wire cutters to snip flowers
Floral wire for a hanger

I just cut the flower bunches into manageable little stems, and start placing them in the wreath as I see fit. You don't need to glue them or anything - just insert them into the grapevine braids. (This way you can use and reuse the wreath as the seasons change etc.) Do the same with the flag.
Add the wire hanger through the top of the wreath.
Hang on your door and you are done.

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Bev's- Memorial Pin
copyright Bev Qualheim -2002. All Rights Reserved
Size E crochet hook
1 yd of Red worsted weight yarn
1 yd of Blue worsted weight yarn
1 yd of White worsted weight yarn
Using red - Chain 23
Row 1: sc in chain nearest to the hook and in each ch across. Ch 1, and turn
Row 2: change to white yarn, sc in each sc across row, ch 1 and turn
Row 3: change to blue yarn, sc in each sc across row, end off. Tuck in all the lose ends of yarn. Twist the 'pin' as above. Use one piece of blue yarn to be threaded through both sides of the pin. Tie in knot in the back an clip. Glue to a brooch pin, or attach a safety pin to the back.

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MORE PATTERNS FOR THE TROOPS can be found here:
http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/troops.html

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JULY 4th Pretzel Sparklers
Long rod pretzels
White chocolate, melted (12 oz or so)
Red, white and blue sprinkles or star cake decorations Melt the white chocolate in the microwave. Dip the pretzel rod halfway into the melted chocolate then sprinkle the sprinkles over the wet chocolate. Lay on waxed paper or place in a cup to dry. Place in fridge to harden. YUMMY!!

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Have a safe and good July 4th! And hug the ones you love today and always!

Bev Q